842 The Sparrow-like Birds 



Hudson Bay, and the Yukon Valley; in winter it is found from Virginia south- 

 ward. The nest is placed in a slight depression in the ground and is lined with 

 grasses and rootlets. The eggs, usually four, are grayish or pinkish white thickly 

 spotted at the larger end. It has, especially in its summer home, a very clear, 

 sweet trill. The other forms are mainly found in the more western portions 

 of the country, their habits being similar to those of the common Snow-bird. 

 A curious, aberrant form (/. vulcani] is found only among the scrubby growth 

 on the ash-cones of the volcanoes of Irazu, Costa Rica, and Chiriqui, Panama. 

 It is the only species having a streaked back and plain tail-feathers. 



Other North American Sparrows. Closely related to the Juncos is the genus 

 Spizella, with seven species and five subspecies. They are small arboreal or 

 semi-arboreal Sparrows with a small bill, long emarginatc or doubly rounded 

 tail, and a brownish, conspicuously streaked back, the lower parts being plain 

 whitish, grayish, or brownish, and the abdomen always white. The best-known 

 is the common Chipping Sparrow (S. passerina}, found abundantly throughout 

 the eastern United States and the British provinces west to the Great Plains. 

 It breeds from the Gulf coast northward, being partial to the vicinity of human 

 habitations. The nest is usually placed in bushes, hedges, and low trees, and 

 is a rather slight affair of weeds and grasses and lined with horse-hair. The 

 eggs, usually four, are greenish blue sparsely spotted with brown or black at the 

 larger end. Several races are found in Mexico, Guatemala, and the west. Other 

 species are the Tree Sparrow (S. monticola), which nests in Newfoundland, 

 Labrador, and the Hudson Bay region, coming south in winter; the Field 

 Sparrow (S. pusilla) of the Eastern States; the allied Mexican Field Sparrow 

 (S. wortheni) and the Clay-colored Sparrow (S. pallida) of the Great Plains. 



White -throated and White-crowned Sparrows. Near relatives of the last 

 are the Zonotrichias, a genus of large, semi-arboreal Sparrows with grayish or 

 brownish streaked back, two white wing-bars, and two broad ^stripes of black 

 on each side of the crown which enclose one of white or yellow. Of these the 

 White-throated Sparrow (Z. albicollis] is a well-known bird of the eastern United 

 States, though breeding mostly beyond our northern borders. It may be known 

 by the white throat and the bright yellow supra-loral spot. The White-crowned 

 Sparrow (Z. leucophrys} has much the same range and may be recognized by 

 the white crown and white superciliary band. Sometimes separated as sub- 

 species of the last is Gambel's Sparrow (Z. gamleli], which is found throughout 

 western North America, while the Golden-crowned Sparrow (Z. coronata) is 

 confined to the Pacific coast. The last has the crown yellow and the super- 

 ciliary band olive-yellow. 



Galapagos or Ground Finches. The Galapagos Archipelago is the home 

 of a group of some thirty-five species of so-called Ground Finches. They are 

 stoutly built, short-tailed, semi-terrestrial birds with a peculiar, strong, but 

 very variable bill. There is some difference of opinion as to the generic limits, 

 but according to Ridgway three genera may be readily recognized. These 

 are the monotypic Platyspiza, Camarhynchus with nine, and Geospiza with 

 twenty-five species. These birds have been isolated for so long a time that 



